The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II

Book Title / Bibliographic

The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II
Authors: Richard Hough; Denis Richards
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Original publication year: 1989
Format: Narrative campaign history with appendices, maps, photo sections, and painting plates



Theater(s) of War / Geographical Focus

Western Front air war
British Isles
United Kingdom Home Defence
South-East England (Kent, Sussex, Thames Estuary)
Southern England (Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight)
East Anglia and North Sea coast (Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Humber)
London and Greater London area
Scottish east coast (Firth of Forth, Rosyth)
Scapa Flow (Orkney Islands)
English Channel and Channel ports
North Sea and approaches



Operations, Campaigns, and Chronology

Battle of Britain (July–October 1940; extended treatment of July–October, with focus on August–September)
Adlertag / Adlerangriff (“Eagle Day” and sustained assault, August 1940)
Channel convoy battles and “Kanalkampf” (July–early August 1940) – e.g., convoy “Peewit”
Attacks on British airfields and Sector Stations (August–early September 1940)
Shift to bombing London – “The New Target: London” (from 7 September 1940)
Key dates highlighted: 10 July 1940; 12–15 August 1940; 15 September 1940 (Battle of Britain Day); late September 1940
Night bombing of London and ports in later 1940 (“the Blitz” overlap as aftermath)
Sealion (German invasion plan) discussed as context; cancellation / postponement in September 1940
Appendix I: Chronology of the Battle of Britain



Main Nations and Belligerents

United Kingdom (UK)
Germany (Nazi Germany; Third Reich)
Commonwealth nations: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (RAF and Dominion personnel)
Free Polish forces in exile (Polish fighter squadrons in RAF service)
Czechoslovak (Czech) pilots in RAF
Belgian and French pilots in RAF
United States volunteer pilots in RAF (before US entry to the war)
Allies vs. Axis



Type of Book

Campaign history
Operational history
Official-history–informed narrative (coauthor of official RAF history)
Includes appendices with orders of battle, organizational charts, and statistics
Not a memoir; not a unit history; not a technical manual



Branch and Service Focus

Royal Air Force (RAF)
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Bomber Command (in supporting and retaliatory roles)
RAF Coastal Command (convoy air cover; North Sea / Channel)
RAF Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB)
Royal Observer Corps
RAF ground crews and maintenance organisations (Maintenance Command)
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) – operations rooms, radar, plotting, signals
Anti-Aircraft Command (British Army) – heavy and light AA guns
Balloon Command (barrage balloon defences)
Luftwaffe – German Air Force (Luftflotten, Jagdgeschwader, Kampfgeschwader, Sturzkampfgeschwader)
Royal Navy and Home Fleet (Scapa Flow, convoy and base protection)
Local Defence Volunteers / Home Guard (airfield and local defence)



Core Themes and Focus

Development of British air defence between the World Wars
Creation and evolution of RAF Fighter Command
Integration of radar (RDF / Chain Home, Chain Home Low) into air defence
Fighter control system: filter rooms, Group HQs, sector stations, R/T control, “Pipsqueak” D/F
Evolution of tactics: squadron vs. section attacks; “Big Wing” controversy; close escort vs. free chase
Command and control relationships: Air Ministry, Chiefs of Staff, Bomber Command, Fighter Command, Coastal Command, AA Command, Balloon Command
RAF vs. Luftwaffe operational methods and doctrine
Pilot experience: training, morale, fatigue, relief, casualties, replacement pipeline
Ground crews and support personnel – maintenance, re-arming, refuelling under attack
Civil defence: ARP, fire brigades, rescue, shelters, air-raid warning, black-out
Impact of bombing on civilians and urban infrastructure (London, ports, industrial targets)
Naval bases and fleet security (e.g., Scapa Flow, Rosyth, Channel and east-coast ports)
German intelligence, navigation and radio beam systems (e.g., Knickebein) and British countermeasures
Aircrew from occupied Europe and the Commonwealth serving in RAF fighter squadrons
Strategic significance of the Battle of Britain in the wider war (precondition for later Allied offensives)



Weapons, Aircraft, and Equipment (only where clearly central)

British fighter aircraft:

Hawker Hurricane
Supermarine Spitfire
Gloster Gladiator (earlier biplane fighter still in some service)


British bomber / fighter-bomber / night fighter types:

Bristol Blenheim (light bomber; day and night fighter conversions)


British engines and armament:

Rolls-Royce Merlin engine (fighter powerplant)
Eight-gun .303 Browning fighter armament (Hurricane and Spitfire)
100-octane aviation fuel (performance improvement; Appendix XII)


German fighter aircraft:

Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Me 109)
Messerschmitt Bf 110 (Me 110 “Zerstoerer” twin-engined fighter)


German bombers and dive-bombers:

Heinkel He 111
Dornier Do 17 (“flying pencil”)
Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka (dive-bomber)
Heinkel He 115 (reconnaissance / seaplane bomber)


German engines and armament (as discussed):

Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine
7.9 mm machine-guns and 20 mm cannon armament in German fighters and bombers


Air defence systems and equipment:

Chain Home (CH) radar stations
Chain Home Low (CHL) radar stations
Air Ministry Experimental Stations (AMES)
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF)
Searchlights (heavy and light)
Heavy anti-aircraft guns
Light anti-aircraft guns (e.g., Bofors)
Barrage balloons (London and provincial barrages)
Sound locators / acoustic mirrors (pre-radar background)





Commanders, Leaders, and Notable Figures

British political and strategic leadership:

Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister)
Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty; later Prime Minister)
Lord Swinton (Philip Cunliffe-Lister; Secretary of State for Air)
Sir Kingsley Wood (Secretary of State for Air)


RAF senior command:

Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding (AOC-in-C Fighter Command)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyril Newall (Chief of the Air Staff)
Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal (AOC-in-C Bomber Command)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill (AOC-in-C Coastal Command)
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Pile (GOC-in-C Anti-Aircraft Command)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris (later, as chairman of Battle of Britain Fighter Association; appears in acknowledgements)
Marshal of the RAF Lord Trenchard (founder of RAF; inter-war development and doctrine)


Fighter and Group commanders:

Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park (AOC No. 11 Group)
Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory (AOC No. 12 Group)
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Quintin Brand (AOC No. 10 Group)
Air Vice-Marshal K. R. Park and AOC 13 Group staff (northern defence)


Key technical and scientific figures:

Sir Robert Watson-Watt (radar pioneer)
Sir Henry Tizard (Tizard Committee; scientific adviser)
H. E. Wimperis (Director of Scientific Research, Air Ministry)
A. P. Rowe (scientific staff; radar development)
Dr R. V. Jones (scientific intelligence; German beams; He 111 equipment analysis)
Sir Henry Royce; Ernest Walter Hives (Rolls-Royce)


German leadership:

Adolf Hitler
Hermann Göring (Reichsmarschall; head of Luftwaffe)
Field Marshal Albert Kesselring (Luftflotte 2)
Field Marshal Hugo Sperrle (Luftflotte 3)
General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (Luftflotte 5)
Grand Admiral Erich Raeder (Kriegsmarine)
Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (Stuka formations; earlier in Spain; appears in Channel attacks)


Notable pilots and aircrew (RAF and Allied):

Douglas Bader
Alan Deere
James “Ginger” Lacey
Robert Stanford Tuck
Peter Townsend
Adolph “Sailor” Malan
Johnny Kent
Josef František (Czech ace)
James Nicolson VC
John Hannah VC
Flight Lieutenant R. A. B. Learoyd VC (Bomber Command; context of RAF gallantry)


Notable Luftwaffe pilots and commanders:

Adolf Galland
Werner Mölders
Walter Rubensdörffer
Willy Messerschmitt (designer)





Visual and Documentary Content

Extensive black-and-white photographs (aircraft, pilots, ground crews, damage, civilians, AA guns, balloons, operations rooms)
Colour plates (paintings of Dowding, RAF fighters, air combats, anti-aircraft batteries, civil defence scenes)
Maps:

Air Defences of Great Britain (August 1940)
Attacks of 15 August 1940 (northern and southern thrusts)
German invasion plan “Sealion” (final version, September 1940)
Maps of London raids (e.g., 7 September, 15 September)


Line illustrations (contemporary cartoons, Daily Telegraph front pages, production charts)
Appendices with:

Chronology of the Battle
RAF Fighter Command order of battle
Luftwaffe order of battle against Britain (e.g., 13 August 1940)
Statistics of aircraft engaged
Chain of command charts (RAF and Luftwaffe)
Heavy AA gun and balloon dispositions
Notes on 100-octane fuel and fighter performance


Use of interviews and correspondence with over 300 surviving aircrew and ground staff (as stated in dust-jacket text)



Civilian and Home Front Aspects

Air-raid shelters: public shelters, Anderson shelters, Underground stations as shelters
ARP (Air-Raid Precautions) organisation
Fire brigades and rescue services in bombed cities (London docks, East End, industrial areas)
Evacuation of civilians from major cities (especially children)
Blackout regulations and daily life under threat of air attack
London docklands and industrial targets under bombardment (e.g., 7 September 1940)
Casualties, bomb damage, and urban destruction (photo plates and narrative)
Civil defence control rooms (depicted in illustrations)
Home Guard (Local Defence Volunteers) and civil defence imagery (Edward Ardizzone drawing)



Organisational and Reference Features

Orders of battle: RAF Fighter Command and Luftwaffe formations during the Battle
Higher command structures: RAF, Luftwaffe, and anti-aircraft defences
Aircraft statistics: strengths and losses; production vs. wastage charts for Hurricanes and Spitfires
Chronology and phase analysis of the Battle
Appendix on radar and air defence chain (CH, CHL, AA gun layouts, balloon defences)
Abbreviations and code-names (e.g., Adlerangriff, Adlertag, Knickebein, Cromwell, Sealion)
Maps linking operations to geography of Britain and the Channel/North Sea

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